Tuesday, April 11, 2006

Awkward Situations

Today was one of those days full of weird, indelicate situations - the kind of stuff people face everyday, but it never comes up in Dear Abby, so we don't know what the hell to do about it.
  • A lovely young mother in track pants leaned over her baby's stroller to adjust something and exposed fully half her ass, apparently without realizing it. I'm not talking cleavage, I mean half a cheek on either side and a full two inches of butt floss in between. Should you tell someone when this happens? Or just hope that sooner or later they notice a slight breeze and start wearing a belt?
  • At the coffeeshop, I noticed a tiny spider crawling in an elderly woman's hair. Again, is this something you should share with a stranger? I didn't want to say, "Excuse me, ma'am, there's a spider crawling on your head" and risk her being an arachnaphobe who would jump up screaming bloody murder, dousing herself with hot coffee. It wasn't a big spider. And of course you can't just smack the spider to the floor without warning, that would just be weird. And saying "You have something in your hair" isn't kind, 'cause as soon as the person reaches up they'll find out it's a spider.
  • Also at the coffeeshop, there's a man...or should I say woman...who is clearly not quite either. I honestly can't tell if he is pre-op, or if she is post-op, or if this person isn't "op" at all but just rather confused. I'm rather confused. The problem is, you want to be gracious and polite without seeming overly gracious and polite. You don't want to come across all, "Hi! I'm exaggeratedly cheerful to mask the total awkwardness!" And the whole time, Boy George's "The Crying Game" is looping through your head and you wish he/she would just hurry up with the frickin' latte so you don't have to study his/her bosom, trying to figure out if it's silicone or rubber.

8 comments:

tshsmom said...

Let me get this straight...you ogled a woman's butt, thought about smacking an old lady, and stared at a GUY's boobs. What kind of pervert are you? heehee

S.M. Elliott said...

Ooh, you're right! I'M the one with the problems! :S
Heehee.

Wandering Coyote said...

Speaking of inappropriately exposed flesh...a young mom got on the bus yesterday wearing low rider pants, exposing her post-pregnancy belly in all it's stretch-marked, jiggly glory. I mean, really. I don't think it was on purpose, like the woman you saw, but still...

S.M. Elliott said...

Weird...I saw the same thing yesterday (it was really a gross day)! That's not just inappropriate, it's nasty.

Anonymous said...

Spiders and Wierdos.....have you thought about A DIFFERENT COFFEESHOP????

redjane Stephanie Belding said...

What a day! I've seen the spider thing too- and completely relate to your conundrum. And didn't you know? Bum-crack is the new cleavage! And in my neighbourhood, you HAVE to buy your pants low, tight and three sizes too small. It's mandatory. :)

Miranda said...

*grin* When my fiance and I were getting his mother's house ready to sell, he hired a designer from the neighborhood to hang curtains.
As she started hanging them up, her pants slid down past her whole backside, revealing a rather...loud red thong. Do you tell someone like that that their pants have come down, or do you just assume they've dressed themselves up purposely? *Covers her eyes*

S.M. Elliott said...

SNL had a fake commercial for "Neutragena Coin Slot Cream". I didn't know whether to laugh or vomit. ;D
I'm seriously considering other coffeeshops...maybe even a gas station would be better.